Flight May 6th

Just a 1-hr flight from KUAO into the foothills of the Cascades.

[@bernardoree5163]

Cool footage. Love the Moni Glider. I saw one for sale and was wondering if you still have yours. What was your overall impression of it's flight characteristics. How many hours did you log on it. Keep up the good work. love the videos. Vancouver Island

[@shadowbrush]

Hi Bernhard, Thanks, and yes, I still have my Moni. However, it is currently awaiting repairs and the installation of a new engine after the prop disintegrated in flight and caused some damage FWF. I never quite know how to answer the question about the flight characteristics. She flies, and that makes me happy. I never encountered a worrisome behavior. Properly trimmed she flies straight, responds positively to the controls, lands easily on the mono wheel. There is little prop clearance and a number of Monis have been nosed in (including mine by the previous owner). But that can be avoided by applying the wheel brake carefully. There's also not much room between cruise speed and VNE. The Moni is sensitive to pitch, and it only takes a few seconds to reach VNE when lowering the nose...that's another caution point. But in all, a delight to fly, burning around 2 gal/hr. I find the gliding capabilities reassuring, when looking for places to put her down if need be. I was cruising over the Pacific when the prop broke, but easily reached a small air strip and had a nice glider landing. If you're looking for soaring capabilities, the Moni probably isn't the right bird for your area. I was never able to properly thermal with her west of the Cascades. East of the Cascades there is enough thermal activity to do extended gliding. But even there, the high sink rate and comparatively high min sink speed make soaring a challenge. Nonetheless, it's fun to turn the engine off, enjoy the silence, and peacefully glide to a power-off landing. Holger

[@burckhantel7327]

Nice video. What engine did you end up putting into it?